1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to light scanning devices and specifically light scanning devices characterized by the structural part of the light scanning probe.
2. Description of the Related Art
When a diagnosis is performed on a vital tissue, an imaging device is commonly used to obtain optical information on the surface conditions of the tissue. Developments in modern medicine, however, have progressed beyond the topical imaging device to provide an optical CT device by which optical information on the inside of the tissue can be obtained as well.
By this optical CT device, information on the inside of organisms are detected and tomograms are obtained using picosecond pulses of laser light. However, a laser light source which generates an extra short pulse light in a picosecond pulse order is expensive and large in size. Furthermore, such a laser light source is difficult to handle.
More recently, a coherence OCT (optical coherence tomogram) to obtain tomograms of a subject using a low coherence light has been disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 6-511312.
Moreover, it is known to use light scanning confocal microscopes as a tool to observe vital tissue and cells in the direction of an optical axis at a high resolution. In this case, however, the regular confocal microscopes used for this purpose are large in size so that for observations, a sample is cut out into small pieces to be mounted on the microscope.
In addition, microconfocal endoscopes, i.e., miniaturized confocal microscopes, which are introduced into the alimentary tract and the like of organisms for observation have been disclosed in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 9-230248.
In the above-mentioned coherence OCT and microconfocal endoscopes, however, since a part of the light scanning probe is a non-water-tight structure, there are some drawbacks such as that when such as that when they are soaked into a washing/antiseptic solution after use, the solution leaks into the inside of the light scanning probe and thereby causes malfunctions.